Pkhali Trio — Three Walnut Spreads with a Pomegranate Crown

1. 01

   Toast the walnuts and spices — slow, not sorry

   Heat a dry pan over medium heat. Add the walnuts and toast for 3-4 minutes, shaking often, until fragrant and pale gold. Transfer to a cool plate. In the same pan, toast the coriander seeds for 2 minutes — you'll smell citrus. Let them cool, then grind both walnuts and seeds separately in a mortar until they're the texture of wet sand. Do not overwork them into butter.

   ~8 min
2. 02

   Blanch the spinach — 30 seconds, no more

   Bring a small pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Tip in the chopped spinach, count to 30, drain into a colander. Let it cool, then squeeze gently with your hands over the colander to remove excess water. You want it dry, not dripping, or the pkhali will split.

   ~5 min
3. 03

   Build the spinach pkhali — green, tight, alive

   In a mortar, crush the garlic with a pinch of salt until it's a rough paste. Add half the ground walnuts and grind again. Tip in the cooled spinach, the coriander and fenugreek, and the vinegar. Pound with the pestle, turning the mixture as you go, until it's the texture of thick pâté — rough, not smooth. Taste. Season with salt and pepper. If it tastes flat, add a tiny pinch more fenugreek. Transfer to a small bowl.

   ~5 min
4. 04

   Make the beetroot and bean versions — same method, different soul

   Rinse out the mortar (or use a second one if you're fastidious). For the beetroot: crush fresh garlic again, add ground walnuts, then the grated raw beetroot. Grind and pound until it's dark and ropey. Add coriander, fenugreek, pomegranate molasses, a touch of vinegar. Season. For the kidney beans: same process — garlic, walnuts, beans, spices, vinegar, pomegranate molasses. The beans will be the earthiest, slightly grainy; that's right. All three should taste sharp, warm, and leave your mouth a little dry. That's the mark of honest pkhali.

   ~10 min
5. 05

   Form the quenelles — three little promises

   Wet two spoons under cool water. Take a heaped spoonful of the spinach pkhali, place it in the bowl of one spoon, then use the second spoon to shape it into an oval, rotating it gently against the edge of a serving plate. Repeat with the beetroot and bean versions, placing each quenelle in a triangle. Work quickly — the spreads should stay cool and hold their shape.

   ~3 min
6. 06

   Crown and serve

   Scatter pomegranate arils generously across all three quenelles. A tiny drizzle of pomegranate molasses over each helps too, if you have it. Warm the mchadi gently in a dry pan or over a flame — it should be warm enough to tear without cracking. Serve immediately, cornbread alongside.

   ~2 min

First spoon of spinach: bright green, slightly grassy, the fenugreek comes in warm and strange. Beetroot version: earthier, sweeter, the pomegranate molasses cutting through like a bell. Kidney beans: the deepest, most savoury, almost meaty without being meat. Together, they tell you where this kitchen is. By the third quenelle, your palate has shifted; you're not eating spreads, you're eating memory.

• ·Toast your walnuts fresh, not rancid; rancid nuts will ruin the lot and make you look careless.
• ·Don't over-pound. Pkhali should be textured, ropey, alive — not a baby-food purée.
• ·If pomegranate molasses is elusive, make it: simmer fresh juice in a pan until it's sticky and thick. Takes 20 minutes. Worth it.
• ·Fenugreek is non-negotiable. Buy it from a Georgian or Middle Eastern shop. It tastes like home, not like a substitute.